Bob Barker opens new area at Chimp Haven

NEW ORLEANS — Animal activist and retired game-show host Bob Barker has opened a new area at Chimp Haven, the national chimpanzee sanctuary in northwest Louisiana.

The 88-year-old Barker says he was so happy he almost wept when he saw five chimps — Doc, JoJo, Murphy, Flick, and Pierre — running Thursday in their new home near Shreveport.

The chimps came from a Texas sanctuary that closed because of overcrowding and money trouble. Other sanctuaries took the rest of its animals but none would take the five because they're infected with the HIV virus.

Barker added $120,000 to his earlier $380,000 gift.

Barker said he learned about the chimps from his friend Nancy Burnet (bur-NET), president of United Activists for Animal Rights. They flew together from California to see the new habitat.